Microsoft Word document doc Uses and conservation of plant diversity in Ben En National Park, Vietnam Hoang, V S Citation Hoang, V S (2009, April 8) Uses and conservation of plant diversity in Ben En[.]
General introduction
This thesis concerns the interactions between plant diversity and plant uses by the local population in Ben En National Park, Vietnam The study should be viewed against the background of global concerns about the current status and future sustainability of tropical forests
Tropical forests are characterized by very high plant diversity; covering less than 10% of the total land areas; they possess more than 50% of all known plant species on earth (Wilson 1988; Mayaux et al 2005) The international Convention on Biological Diversity signed in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 strongly emphasized the need for biodiversity conservation From that global perspective, despite numerous efforts to conserve biodiversity, tropical forests have severely declined in the last 16 years and still continue to decline (Johnson 1993; Achard et al 2002; Chien 2006; Butler
& Laurance 2008; Putz et al 2008) During the past decades, around 6 million ha of tropical forests have been lost (Achard et al 2002) The main causes are agricultural expansion, over-harvesting of tropical hardwoods, development of plantations, mining operations, industry, urbanization, and road building (Geist & Lambin 2002; Chien 2006) Among tropical areas, South-East Asia has the highest relative rate of deforestation (Achard et al 2002; Brook et al 2006; Chien 2006) Tropical forests are important for global environmental ecosystem function (Fearnside 1997; Laurance 1999), they also provide subsistence needs and income for hundreds of millions of people worldwide (Iqbal 1993; Walter 2001), often the very poor (Ticktin 2004)
A successful biodiversity conservation strategy requires a good understanding of the relationships among natural resources and social conditions This is particularly important for tropical countries, where the forests are very rich in biodiversity, but are being lost at an alarming rate (Whitmore 1997; Sodhi et al 2004; Chien 2006)
FORESTS AND BIODIVERSITY IN VIETNAM
Vietnam is a country rich in biodiversity (Thin 1997) The country was ranked as the 16th most biologically diverse country in the world (WCMC 1992; Hoang et al
2008 a) Forests covered around 43% of Vietnam before 1954 (Maurand 1943; Lung
2001) However, the forests of Vietnam were severely damaged by many causes, such as the war with the United States of America, overexploitation, shifting estimated 30% in 1985, and 28% in 1995 (Lung 2001; Hoang et al 2008 a) In 1998, the 5 million ha Reforestation Program was launched by the Vietnamese government with a target to plant 5 million ha of forests by 2010, restoring the forest cover to 43% (Lung 2001) The program aims not only to reforest, but also to protect existing natural forests In recent years the forest cover of Vietnam has gradually increased (Hung 2004; Lan et al 2006; Hoang et al 2008 a) However, the quality of the forests is still low as most of the forests are poor in timber volume and tree species diversity and density as a result of a long time of overexploitation (Dang 2001; Chien 2006) On the other hand, to protect the rich and threatened biodiversity, the Vietnamese government has established a system of protected areas (Tai 1995; VN 2003; Hoang et al 2008 a): in 2006, Vietnam had 126 protected areas, with a total area of 2.54 million ha (Hoang et al 2008 a)
Fig 1.1 Map of Ben En National Park in Vietnam (inset – lakes are dotted)
Our study focuses on Ben En National Park, one of the 30 National Parks in Vietnam (Forest Protection Department 2006) Ben En National Park is situated in Nhu Thanh and Nhu Xuan districts of the Thanh Hoa province in Vietnam 19° 30’ to 19° 40’ N by 105° 21’ to 105° 35’ E (Fig 1.1) The Park was established in 1992 to conserve the rich, but seriously threatened biodiversity of the country The Park is inhabited by 18,000 local people belonging to five ethnic groups The majorities of the people who are living in the National Park belong to the Kinh, Thai, Muong and Tay ethnic groups; although there are also a small number of Tho people Their life
(Hoang et al 2008 b & c) The vegetation of Ben En National Park has been strongly influenced by human exploitation (Khoi 1996; Hoang et al 2008 a) The forests were commercially logged as late as 1992, and small-scale, illegal logging continues to this date (Tordoff et al 2000; Hoang et al 2008 a & c)
OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY The aims of this thesis are:
• To inventory plant species diversity, their life forms and their conservation status, and the vegetation types in Ben En National Park
• To survey medicinal and non-medicinal plant uses and the role of plant resources in the economy of the indigenous communities in Ben En National Park
• To analyze the impact of human and environmental factors on plant diversity and composition in Ben En National Park
• To use the resulting information and understanding to underpin recommen- dations for future management of Ben En National Park and other protected areas
Following a general introduction, Chapter 2 focuses on the diversity of plant families, genera, species, life forms, conservation status, and the vegetation types recorded during a two years survey in Ben En National Park from 2005 to 2007 In addition we briefly review the status of forest biodiversity and causes of biodiversity loss in Vietnam
Chapter 3 deals with the numerous medicinal plant species and their uses by local people in Ben En National Park, and analyzes the role of medicinal plants in the indigenous communities In addition this chapter presents a comparison of the situation in Ben En National Park with other local communities depending on natural forest resources in and beyond Vietnam
Chapter 4 addresses the great diversity of non medicinal useful plants in food, construction, firewood, household tools and related products, and other uses; and analyses the impact of local use on the conservation status of some of the utilized species
Chapter 5 focuses on the impact of human and environmental factors (mainly soils) on plant diversity and forest structure in Ben En National Park, and gives some recommendations for developing a sustainable management of Ben En National Park based on the results of the analysis.
Plant biodiversity in Ben En National Park, Vietnam
IN BEN EN NATIONAL PARK, VIETNAM
HOANG VAN SAM 1, 2 , PIETER BAAS 2 , PAUL A.J KEòLER 3
Agricultural Publishing House, Hanoi, Vietnam 2008
The plant species diversity and vegetation types of Ben En National Park were studied to provide baseline information for conservation and sustainable use management within the Park A total of 1389 vascular plant species are recorded in Ben En National Park belonging to 650 genera and 173 families Together with earlier inventories this brings the total species number of vascular plants to about
1600 Three species found here are new to the flora of Vietnam (Myristica yunnan- ensis Y.H Li - Myristicaceae, Glyptopetalum sclerocarpum (Kurz) M.A Lawson - Celastraceae, and Timonius arborea Elmer - Rubiaceae); 7 families, 43 genera and
252 species are new records for the flora of Ben En National Park Euphorbiaceae constitute the most diverse family with 113 species, while 47 families are represented only with one species Phanerophytes are the dominant component (76% of all species), with chamaephytes (6%), hemicryptophytes (8.5%), cryptophytes (6%), and therophytes (4%) constituting minor proportions of the local flora
Major parts of the forest in Ben En National Park have been impacted by man; before it became a National Park in 1992 the area was a timber concession, and use of wild and cultivated plant resources by local people in the Park continues to this day Three man-made ecosystems are present on 29% of the surface area: 1) agri- cultural fields about 650 ha, 2) plantation forests about 110 ha, and 3) mixed bamboo and timber tree stands about 3800 ha Two main vegetation types are recognized with heavily and slightly disturbed subtypes, depending on the intensity of plant use and illegal logging by the local population
1 Forest Plant Department, Vietnam Forestry University, Xuan Mai, Hanoi, Vietnam Email: samfuv@gmail.com
2 National Herbarium of the Netherlands, Leiden University Branch, Einsteinweg 2, P.O Box
9514, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands Email: baas@nhn.leidenuniv.nl
3 Hortus Botanicus Leiden, Binnenvestgracht 8, P.O Box 9516, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands Email: prefect@hortus.leidenuniv.nl disturbed, and shrubland on limestone)
2) Tropical evergreen lowland forest on other soils (mainly ferralitic, and in a small area on alluvial soil) Subtypes: slightly disturbed forest on ferralitic or alluvial soil, heavily disturbed forest on ferralitic soil, and shrubland vegetation outside the limestone hills
A small area of virgin forest on limestone could not be described, because of its inaccessibility
A total of 386 plant species are used by local people in Ben En National Park The Park is of great importance for plant species conservation: a total of 29 plant species are listed in the red data list of IUCN (2006), and 42 species are listed in the Red Data Book of Vietnam (Ban 2007), which recognizes a total of 448 endangered species In addition, 89 species were found to be endangered locally
Tropical rainforests are the most species-rich terrestrial ecosystems on earth, but these forests are rapidly disappearing as land is cleared for timber, agriculture, and other uses (Fimbel et al 2001; Meijaard et al 2005) Vietnam’s forests contain a wealth of biodiversity (Thin 1997) The country was ranked as the 16th most biologically diverse country in the world (WCMC 1992) The forests of Vietnam have dramatically declined during the last 60 years (Chien 2006) Research on plant diversity in Vietnam has a long history, but there are relatively few detailed site studies The botanical survey of Cuc Phuong National Park, the first National Park established in 1962, is perhaps the most complete (Thin 2000)
In this book, we briefly review the status of forest biodiversity and causes of biodiversity loss in Vietnam Our study focuses on Ben En National Park, one of the
30 National Parks in Vietnam (Forest Protection Department 2006) The Ben En area was designated for the protection of fauna in 1979, and as a nature reserve in
1986, and National Park in 1992 to conserve the rich, but seriously threatened biodiversity of the country The park is inhabited by 18,000 local people belonging to five ethnic groups The vegetation of Ben En National Park has been strongly influenced by human exploitation (Khoi 1996; Hoang et al 2008 c) The forests were commercially logged as late as 1992, and small-scale, illegal logging continues to this date (Tordoff et al 2000; Hoang et al 2008 c)
This study deals with the diversity of plant families, genera, species, life form, their conservation status, useful plants, and the vegetation types recorded during a two years survey in Ben En National Park from 2005 to 2007
The status of forest and biodiversity in Vietnam
Before 1945, forests covered around 43% of Vietnam (Maurand 1943; Lung 2001) From 1954 to 1975, the forests of Vietnam were severely damaged by the long war with the United States of America By 1976, the total area of forests had been
2001; Chien 2006) Since 1976, more forests have still been destroyed for many reasons, such as overexploitation, shifting cultivation, and agricultural extension As a result, the forest cover declined to an estimated 30% in 1985, and 28% in 1995 (Lung 2001; Chien 2006) In 1998, the 5 million ha Reforestation Program was launched by the Vietnamese government with a target to plant 5 million ha of forests by 2010, restoring the forest cover to 43% (Lung 2001) The program aims not only to reforest, but also to protect existing natural forests As a result, the forest cover of Vietnam has gradually increased In 2003, the forested area of Vietnam was 36.1% (Hung 2004; Lan et al 2006) However, the quality of forests is still low as most of the forests are poor in timber volume and tree species diversity and density as a result of a long time of overexploitation (Dang 2001; Chien 2006) According to Dang (2001) natural forests rich in timber resources cover only 1.4 million ha (13% of the total forest area) while poor and young plantations or naturally regenerating forests comprise around 6 million ha (55% of the total forest area)
There are many reasons for the rapid loss of forests in Vietnam, but the war played a major role (Quy 1985) More than 2 million ha of natural forests, of which 500,000 ha of closed upland forests and 30,000 ha of mangroves were completely destroyed (Westing 1971; Quy 1985; Hong 1988; Sam 2005); many large forest areas were heavily logged to support people and the war effort Subsequently, to rebuild the country after the war, around 1.3-1.4 million m 3 of timber were exploited annually (Nhat 2001; Chien 2006) Overexploitation is also an important reason for the decrease in forest resources in Vietnam As a developing country with 80% of the population being farmers living in the countryside and remote areas, the need for firewood is huge Annually, 22 to 23 million tons of firewood are harvested (Dang
2001) In addition, illegal logging is a serious problem as it has annually destroyed around 30,000 ha of forests in the last few decades (GoVN 1994; Chien 2006) The population of Vietnam has increased quickly, and this has also a large impact on the forests From the beginning of the last century until 2007, the population of Vietnam increased from about 15 million to 85 million (Chien 2006) Such a large population puts the forest under heavy pressure, not only through practices of shifting cultivation, but also by transforming forested land into arable land and urban areas (Sam 1996) Plant biodiversity in Vietnam
Vietnam possesses a rich and diverse flora, with around 28% of its total species considered endemic (Thin 1997) However, many species formerly recorded as endemic species in Vietnam also occur in China, Laos, or Thailand (Hoang et al
2004) Thin (1997) indicated that Vietnam has 11,373 plant species, belonging to
2524 genera, 378 families and 7 major plant groups (Table 2.1) A few years later Thin (2000) estimated the Vietnamese flora to number 12,000 species
To protect the threatened biodiversity, the Vietnamese government has established a system of protected areas with the aim of conserving the main ecosystems present in Vietnam, as well as the threatened and endemic species of flora and fauna, and the valuable landscapes for culture, ecology and biodiversity (Tai 1995; VN 2003; Chien 2006) The first National Park, Cuc Phuong, was established in 1962 as an
Since then, the National Park and nature reserve system of Vietnam has developed quickly By the year 2006, Vietnam had 126 areas of special purpose forests with a total area of 2.54 million ha (Table 2 2), occupying 7.7% of the total area of the country (Forest Protection Department 2006)
Table 2.1 Components of the flora of Vietnam (Thin 1997)
Taxa Number of families Number of genera Number of species
Table 2.2 Protected forest areas in Vietnam (Forest Protection Department 2006)
Species/habitat management protected areas 11 85.85
Protected landscape or seascape areas 39 215.29
The 4 kinds of protected areas are defined below (Forest Techniques and Science Association of Vietnam (FTSA) 2001; Chien 2006)